Road repair plans released

MORE than 300 sections of roads damaged by recent storms will be repaired by March 2011 according to the Corangamite Shire. Damaged during August’s flooding rains, the works are expected to cost at least $3.1 million to complete.The shire has prepared a schedule of works for the repairs and a copy will be mailed to 7000 homes and businesses across the shire. The schedule involves Shire crews working seven days a week supported by external contractors.Mayor Matt Makin said the publication was titled ‘After the storm, the plan to repair our roads’, and would start arriving in letterboxes this week. “We understand the damaged roads have been causing concern and frustration in our communities and we wanted to be upfront with our residents about our progress with the massive list of repair works and the amount of work that still lies ahead.“The details of this publication will hopefully help our residents understand the magnitude of the destruction and the issues we face as a council and as a community over the next six months. “Unfortunately, that’s how long it will take to repair all the damage that was caused by the storms,” he said. Cr Makin said so far efforts have concentrated on urgent repairs from a safety perspective. “This has included reinstating access to people’s homes, providing emergency access and patching school bus routes. Our crews have also focused on safety works on the main arterials that carry high volumes of traffic,” he said. Cr Makin said an audit of the shire’s entire road network had been completed and a road works schedule locked in for the re-instatement of all roads to their pre-storm condition. “At the height of the initial storm on August 10 and 11 we had 21 roads closed, 150 roads underwater and the audit revealed $3.1 million of damage to more than 300 sites,” Cr Makin said. “We also had a wind storm that caused tree damage in early September,” he said. Cr Makin said repairs to VicRoads arterial roads were ongoing, but VicRoads would determine a completion date for those works and they were not included in the plan. He said the shire was committed to meeting the repair timelines outlined for its roads and continued to work with the state government to secure natural disaster relief funding. “This publication is our commitment to residents and I urge them all to read it carefully.“I also want to stress the work to repair the storm damage does not jepordise or impact on our budgeted 2010-11 roads program. “We will repair the damaged roads and deliver what we said we would this financial year.” Cr Makin thanked the Corangamite community for its patience and understanding and asked that motorists continue to drive with extreme caution throughout the region. Terang, Noorat and Glenormiston residents can expect works to be completed by Friday November 26, with repairs to drains and roads featuring heavily.